Extradition of Mexican drug lord to US not likely to be fast

By MARÍA VERZA
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican judge’s ruling means the extradition of drug trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero, captured in the mountains of northwest Mexico, will not happen quickly. In the ruling published Monday, the Mexican judge issued what amounts to an injunction preventing Caro Quintero from being sent to the United States without going through the formal extradition process. The judge also ruled that he must remain in the maximum security prison west of the capital where he was taken after his capture while that process plays out. After Caro Quintero’s arrest Friday, the U.S. government said it would seek his “immediate extradition.” That process began Saturday, but as expected Caro Quintero’s lawyers intervened.